Funding for a PhD

Scholarships and funding for a PhD in the Management School. 

LUMS Scholarships

A number of LUMS Studentships will also be available, which include a fee waiver and a stipend of approximately £19,000 per annum. Applicants should indicate that they wish to be considered for a Doctoral Studentship on their application form (under the section on the proposed source of funding and in the personal statement) so that they can automatically be considered. There are no separate studentship application forms.

These studentships will be available for all the PhD programmes offered by the Management School and for students of any nationality. Awards will be allocated on a competitive basis, intended to support promising researchers in pursuing their PhD studies at LUMS.

Eligibility: all students

Deadline for applications: 15 March 2027

ESRC Awards

Lancaster University is part of the Economic and Social Research Council's (ESRC) North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (NWSSDTP), which offers a large number of studentships that cover tuition and provide a living allowance. Details of the provision and funding offered by the NWSSDTP are available on the NWSSDTP website.

Eligibility: All students (The University will fund the difference between the Home and Overseas tuition fee for any successful overseas applicants).

If you are interested in applying for an ESRC Studentship, please contact Karine Rennie-Bloor.

Deadline for applications: If you are seeking funding, we strongly recommend that you submit your programme application for a place at Lancaster University by Monday, 11 January 2027. This is to ensure that your programme application has time to be processed and that you will be in receipt of an offer of a programme place by the time funding is allocated.

Please note that the deadline for your NWSSDTP funding application is 22 February 2027.

North West Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership

Departmental studentships

Programme specific studentships

External scholarships for PhD students

Scholarships from external funders for doctoral students at Lancaster University.

  • China Scholarships Council

    Funding for tuition fees, living costs and flights for Chinese PhD students, following a successful application.

  • Commonwealth Scholarships

    Full funding for international postgraduate students, depending on eligibility criteria.

Postgraduate Doctoral Loan

If you’re starting a doctoral degree, you could get a Postgraduate Doctoral Loan of up to £31,122 to help with course fees and living costs. It isn’t based on your income or your family’s, and it’s paid directly to you.

Find out more on the student finance website.

Postgraduate Doctoral Loan

Lancaster University funding information

Additional information

Many websites provide information about funding opportunities. We suggest overseas applicants consider the British Council website for helpful information. Among the other sources, we suggest the following links:

Linked icons